Chandigarh, March 26 – The Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested two individuals in connection with alleged discrepancies in the fixed deposit receipts of Panchkula Municipal Corporation, amounting to nearly Rs 150 crore, held at a Kotak Mahindra Bank branch.
According to an official statement, Dileep Kumar Raghav, who was a relationship manager at the bank at the time of the offense, was the first to be arrested on Wednesday. Another individual, identified as Rajat Dahra, was arrested late Thursday night.
"The case pertains to significant discrepancies found in the FDRs and bank accounts of Panchkula Municipal Corporation maintained at Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector-11, Panchkula," the statement said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Raghav conspired with others and submitted false reports to the Panchkula Municipal Corporation regarding the fixed deposits, resulting in serious discrepancies in the records.
A court in Panchkula sent Dileep Kumar Raghav to a four-day police custody on Thursday.
"The accused, Rajat Dahra, has been arrested in connection with the Kotak Mahindra Bank case. He has disclosed that he received more than Rs 60 crore from an account number...from May 29, 2020 and another account from October 1, 2022, until 2025. He is alleged to have transferred this money to several other accounts, which are currently under investigation," another statement issued later in the day read.
The municipal corporation has claimed a multi-crore mismatch between its official records and the balances or records reflected in the Kotak Mahindra Bank's Panchkula branch.
According to the Panchkula Municipal Commissioner, the discrepancies detected in the fixed deposit receipts amounted to approximately Rs 150 crore.
However, a Kotak Mahindra Bank spokesperson, in a statement on Wednesday, said the bank had conducted a detailed reconciliation of fixed deposits and linked bank accounts maintained by the municipal corporation. Based on the records examined so far, "all account opening processes, KYC documentation, authorized signatories, and instructions received from the municipal corporation were in order, and that the accounts and transactions were handled in strict adherence to due process and applicable banking norms."
The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SVACB) had filed an FIR on Tuesday night against unnamed bank officials and others, accusing them of cheating, conspiracy, and other offenses.
This followed a decision by the Haryana government to refer the case to the SVACB to file an FIR "regarding the non-reconciliation of funds and for conducting a thorough investigation into the discrepancies related to the Panchkula Municipal Corporation's FDRs, as well as the bank accounts maintained with Kotak Mahindra Bank at Sector 11, Panchkula."
The case was registered at the Anti-Corruption Bureau police station in Panchkula under Sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust), 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of a valuable security, will, etc.), 340 (forged document or electronic record), and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as Sections 13(2) and 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
According to the FIR, the Panchkula Municipal Commissioner has maintained 16 fixed deposits amounting to Rs 1,45,03,41,704 (over Rs 145 crore) with a maturity value of Rs 1,58,02,36,420 (over Rs 158 crore) at the Kotak Mahindra Bank's Sector 11, Panchkula branch.
Of these, 11 fixed deposits amounting to Rs 59,57,67,709 (over Rs 59 crore) matured on February 16, 2026.
"According to the bank statement of Account No... received on March 16, the balance as of March 13 is reflected as Rs 2,17,74,394 (over Rs 2.17 crore), against the expected balance of Rs 50,00,24,463 (over Rs 50 crore)," the FIR stated.
"Furthermore, the bank has informed that there are no outstanding term deposits and that the balance in the account as of March 18 is Rs 12,85,93,603.86 (over Rs 12 crore)."
"However, as per the office records, the Panchkula Municipal Corporation maintains 16 fixed deposits with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Panchkula, amounting to Rs 1,45,03,41,704 with a maturity value of Rs 1,58,02,36,420, which is not in accordance with the position conveyed by the bank," the FIR stated.
The FIR indicates that the records are "totally mismatched" and that there is "every reason to suspect financial irregularities have been committed by this bank."
On Wednesday, the bank spokesperson said, "Following instructions from the Panchkula Municipal Corporation, Kotak Mahindra Bank initiated a detailed reconciliation of fixed deposits and linked bank accounts maintained by the municipal corporation."
"As part of this exercise, the bank has confirmed, based on records examined so far, that all account opening processes, KYC documentation, authorized signatories, and instructions received from the municipal corporation were in order, and that the accounts and transactions were handled in strict adherence to due process and applicable banking norms."
The spokesperson further stated that a significant portion of the amounts under review has already been reconciled with the municipal corporation, and the reconciliation process is continuing in an orderly manner.
"Furthermore, in keeping with its governance standards and to ensure that the matter is examined independently and comprehensively, the bank has filed a formal complaint with the Panchkula Police. The bank is cooperating fully with the municipal corporation, government authorities, and law enforcement agencies in this process," the spokesperson said.